DIY Stand but floor is unleveled?!?!

[fish-boy13]

Hey guys im planning on building a stand for my 125 Gal Tank, but i have problem. My basement floor is unleveled, its leaning forward a bit by id say 1/4". What should i do in terms of solving this problem? Build the thank perfectly leveled and then just put something under it to level it out or build the stand according to the floor level to assure the tank is leveled?

Now this may be a stupid question but i wasn't too sure if it was a safe thing to put like thin piece of wood just under the stand, because this is a lot of weight and will probably be there for a long period of time. Also if it that is the solution where should i put the thin pieces of wood so that the whole thing is still secured properly to the ground?

 

[Nicksplosion]

for the safest and strongest stand you should build the stand to be level with the floor, i would have six or eight legs because its such a heavy tank.

 

[Trippingpara]

Build it level to the floor it will sit on. Like Nicksplosion said, use plenty of legs for support or double up on the jack studs. You don't have to secure the stand to the ground. The shear weight of the stand and the tank will hold it quite securely in place.

 

[mackattack702]

I too would build it level for the spot it will be located. I would be worried about when I wanted to move it to a spot that is level, but then you could just cut the other legs. If you want to shim it I wouldn't be too worried about it either though, its just compressing with that much weight the shims wont be going anywhere.

 

[fish-boy13]

Thanks guys for the advice, well i think i will build the stand perfectly leveled, just to save me the time and effort of having to trim the legs down a bit if i do ever move it. So i have decided to use maybe a long piece of thin plywood that would go along in front of the tank which is 6' long. Now should i also be putting some smaller pieces of shims on the side as well to prevent having a gap on the sides so that the weight is distributed equally.

Are there any long/short term problems with using shims? Also in terms of problems in supporting the tank with using shims?

 

[big train]

Hey fish-boy u did the right thing build the stand level and use shims to adjust. I have a double stack stand of 125 gal sitting on shims [plywood scraps] in the basement for 2 years now with no problems. Over the years i guess the weight does squish the shims i would say the tank does lean slightly maybe 1/8" out that is nothing tho it's not noticable unless your a perfectionist type.

 

[crisper]

Yeah i agree with building the stand level. Then shim the stand to be level . If you ever decide to move your tank , now your stuck fixing a stand that is'nt level. I've shimmed my tanks with metal shims no chance of compression.

 

[fish-boy13]

Ok thanks and i may use that metal as for shimmings, because really the only thing i was worried about was the shims being compressed overtime, because a huge tank like this can easily way 1500 pounds. Plus the weight of the stand.
As for the sides should i also shim those to fill in the gap it will have or would the wood on the side just go bend down over time due to the weight of the tank?

Well thanks guys. Also i just posted my setup for this tank and could use some help so if you guys can click on the setup and filtration area, hop in there and see if you can help me out there too.

Thanks again.

 

[Trippingpara]

Living in an old house, none of my floors are perfectly level, so every one of my tanks are shimmed. Never had a problem.

 

[RexFish]

As long as the stand is built perfectly, I wouldnt worrie about the gap. But if you dont feel right about it, you can always put some in but dont force it into the gaps.